Spirit Contract 2
by ureshiitamago
Summary: Our favorite pirate crew is now in Grandline! Kretcher has (almost *wink*) defeated the demons of her past! Grandline is going to be fun! Right? *Sequel to One Piece: Spirit Contract, dont read this w/out reading that first. Rated T cause I'm paranoid. NAKAMA ONLY
1. Chapter 1

**Ureshiitamago: Ooooh yehs, I love my new season nehm. Muhahaha. I bet ya'll thought I'd keep goin' on the last season huh? Well I fooled you! Gahahahahahaha!**

**Kretcher: Calm down dirt bag, you're making a fool of yourself. Luffy-san?**

**Luffy: I'm Baaaaaaack! Yeah?**

**Kretcher: Tell the kind people that Ureshiitamago doesn't own One Piece.**

**Luffy: NO SHE DOESN'T! I DO! Meat?**

**Kretcher: *hands over fridge***

**Luffy: Yay!**

**Ureshiitamago: *Gapes* NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY LEFTOVER TURKEY FROM THANKSGIVING THAT ACTUALLY TASTED GOOD THIS YEAR!**

**Kretcher: Muhahahaha**

**Ureshiitamago: *sobs dramatically and points to audience* You better like this chapter I gave up my turkey for!**

_ "__WE'RE IN!" We shouted. We shot up the mountain, and breached the top. _

_ "__Now we just slide down!" I yelled, joining Luffy, Nami, and Zoro at the front of the Merry. _

_ "__I SEE IT!" Luffy shouted. "THE GRAND LINE!"_

**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**

I laughed psychotically as the Merry zoomed down the mountain into the most dangerous ocean in the world. I could barely hear my own laughter in the wind that was threatening to tear off the skin on my face. I was clutching onto the railing for dear life, my still too light body almost lifting off the deck.

"BWAAAAAAAAAAH!" My laughter stopped. _What the hell?_ I thought, ignoring Billy's protests against my choice of language.

"What was that?" Zoro and I asked at the same time.

"WHO CARES? LET'S GO!" yelled Luffy, who was caught up in the adrenaline of the trip, and his excitement over Grand Line.

"Maybe it's the wind." Nami suggested as I looked at her. "There are probably a lot of unusual rock formations around here." I frowned at that, but didn't say anything. That didn't sound like the wind to me.

"BWAAAAAAAH!" I clapped my hands over my ears as Zoro caught me around the waist to keep me in the boat just as I felt my feet leave the deck. I cursed my lightness in my head. I watched as my crewmates and captain mouthed some words, or rather, I just couldn't hear because of my hands over my ears. I did notice when they all started screaming, so I looked in the direction they were looking and screamed with them.

"IT'S A WHALE!" we screamed.

"BWAAAAAAAAH!" The whale said. (ENDO! DO YOU SPEAK WHALE?) I shouted in my head, too panicked to lower my inner voice. Demons trying to kill me I could somewhat handle, but the thought of crashing into a whale at high speed was terrifying. (Calm down, and yes, I do.) Everyone was yelling around me.

"What're we going to do!?"

"Should we fight it!?"

"Are you nuts!? We can't fight a monster like that!"

"But it's blocking our way!"

At this point, Zoro let go of me, and I quickly grabbed the railing to stop myself from falling up. **A/N: Yes, I do mean falling up. That isn't a typo.**

"Up this close, it looks like a wall." Sanji said. "Where're the eyes?"

"Maybe it hasn't noticed us yet." Nami said. (Endo, could we maybe talk it into telling us what's wrong?) I asked as I got a blast of its aura. There was grief and betrayal. (Maybe.) There was a flash of light, and I was blue skinned and web footed. No one noticed as they ran around, trying to turn the Merry before it reached the whale. I could've gone full Endo, but he couldn't breathe in the air, and in this form, I could do both. I had opened my mouth to shout at the whale when the cannon fired, and the Merry slowed down considerably. I dimly remembered Luffy shouting something about an idea. _So that's what it was._ I thought as we drew closer {albeit more slowly} to the whale. _Why didn't the rest of us think of that?_ A squeak made its way out of my mouth as the figurehead, Luffy's favorite seat, snapped off and fell next to my foot. Nami had collapsed onto the deck.

"This is bad.." I heard her gasp. "am I dead?"

"MY SPECIAL SEAT!" I heard Luffy scream from the entrance to the hold. I watched the whale nervously for a moment. It didn't seem to have noticed anything except the noise of the cannon. There was silence for a minute on the ship, and then it broke.

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE WHILE WE CAN!"

"WHAT THE HECK? IT DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE CANNON? OR IS IT JUST SLOW?"

"WHO KNOWS!? BUT NOW'S OUR CHANCE!" The men grabbed the oars and we zoomed hard to the port, sailing past the immobile whale.

"**BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**" The sound was much louder up close. I clapped my hands over my ears again, my hands still webbed, and my skin still blue. The boys were making good progress, though I didn't see Luffy, and we were just under the creature's eye when he made his appearance.

"Listen you!" He exclaimed. "That was my special seat!" He reared back in a familiar move. Dread washed over me as his fist made contact with the whale's eye. "What did you do to it!?"

"YOU IDIOT!" The rest of us yelled. Nami looked on the verge of passing out. I watched in morbid fascination as the gigantic eye suddenly swiveled down to look at us. (Should we try talking to it now?) I asked Endo tentatively. (I don't think that he's going to listen…) Endo replied dully. The whale sank down a few feet before letting out a blood curdling scream and opening its maw. The Merry was shooting into its mouth as I stayed in the spot that the Merry _had_ been, the deck no longer under my feet. I fell into the water with a scream as I watched the Merry become whale food, and then the water engulfed me.

**3****rd**** POV**

Luffy screamed in frustration as he hammered the top of the whale's head.

"SPIT THEM OUT! GIVE ME BACK MY FRIENDS! SPIT THEM OUT!" _Now I know how Skelly felt when her family was killed_. A part of his brain that wasn't panicking for his friends observed. _SHUT UP!_ Another part thought. He had seen a blue-skinned Skelly fall into the ocean, but he couldn't see her. His panic doubled as the whale sunk deeper into the water.

"Uh oh, it's going to dive." He said, slamming the top of the whale with his foot. "Hey, stop!" If he died, he couldn't find One Piece. If he died, he couldn't sail the seas with his Nakama. "GIVE ME BACK MY FRIENDS!" He shouted as the frustration overwhelmed him. "WE'RE ALL GOING ON AN ADVENTURE! I NEED THEM!" Suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he looked to his right. Anger turned to confusion as he beheld…a trapdoor? "Huh?"

**Kretcher POV**

I beat the side of the whale with my fists, though I did no damage.

"LET THEM GO!" I shouted in the water, feeling my eyes prick and my throat constrict. _Am I able to cry underwater?_ I wondered. (Calm down, and let's try to talk to him) Endo instructed, worry threading his voice. Worry towards my nakama. I was worried, worried past the point of panic, entering the realm of hysteria. They were the first people (aside from Coral) who had accepted me and decided that I would be their friend. All my life, I had been quiet, polite, and unobserved, but now. Now I was becoming more outspoken, more able to laugh from my stomach instead of the well bred giggle. Now I was able to be myself without threat of people judging me. Now I actually had the closest thing to what I considered family, and now they were stuck in a random whale's stomach. A familiar voice whispered in my head. _What if they don't care that you're gone?_ It said. I squashed the remaining doubt of my Nakama, my family, into a tiny mess and brushed it under a rug. After Kuroyuki island, I didn't doubt they thought of me as a friend. As the whale sank deeper into the ocean, I did as well, keeping pace with him. I drew level with his eye, and located his ear. I swam over to it. (Do I just talk normally?) I asked Endo. (Yes, I'll translate it as you speak.) I placed my hand on the whale next to his ear so he could pull me along with him.

"Whale-san? My name is Kretcher. I was wondering if you could kindly regurgitate my friends?" I asked, only to scream in fright as I noticed that we were heading towards the Red Line wall.

**Just a heads up, guys. Since its getting close to Christmas break, I won't be posting long chapters until when its actually break, and I have two weeks to write. Don't hate me! Love you lovies! Mwah mwah. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Ureshiitamago: I really don't know how people do it…balancing homework and chapters…but I did it! XD yaay!**

**Kretcher: Oh, woo hoo.**

**Anora: And what about me?**

**Ureshiitamago:…I'll get back to your story later, ok?**

**Anora: *mutters***

**Kretcher: Stay out of my storyline! *Pushes Anora out the door***

**Ureshiitamago: Wow, how hospitable…Luffy, it's been a while! Care to do the honors? You'll get meat!**

**Luffy: MEAT!? I'M IN! Uhh, ureshiitamago doesn't own One Piece, just her OCs and OIs. Meat?**

**Ureshiitamago: *hands over wheelbarrow of meat***

**Luffy: YAAAAAAAAAY! Have fun reading, and review! I forgot that part. *Digs into meat***

_ "__Whale-san? My name is Kretcher. I was wondering if you could kindly regurgitate my friends?" I asked, only to scream in fright as I noticed that we were heading towards the Red Line wall. _

**Chapter 2: A whale of a time! What a strange **compass**… **

I grit my teeth and shut my eyes as tight as I could. The impact that the whale made against the mountain jarred me, and almost made me let go. (WHAT'S HE DOING!?) I panic-yelled. (I'm afraid I don't know.) Endo replied, sounding as perplexed as I was freaked out. I was almost torn off of the whale again as he backed up, and then rushed forward again to hit the mountain with his head. _It feels like my face is being peeled off!_ I thought as I was jarred again from the whale hitting the mountain. (He'll kill himself.) Billy said gravely Endo explained what was going on. (I wonder if he wants to go home.) Sharpclaw pondered calmly. (HOW THE HECK CAN YOU BE SO CALM!?) I screamed as the whale hit his head against the mountain again. My panic doubled as my grasp on his skin slipped. (Calm down.) Endo said, though I could hear the worry in his voice. (Frrrrreaking out about slipping won't help you not slip nya.) Pusa added. I took several deep breaths before letting go of the whale. It had stopped its attack on the wall, and instead was just floating there.

"Bwaaaah." I winced in sympathy as his head bled freely, and grasped him near his ear again as he started to drift upwards. We breached the surface, and I turned around as I heard a metallic clanking sound. There was a door I hadn't noticed before on the side of the whale. I sweatdropped. _How did I not notice that?_ I thought. My surprise at the fact that there was a door on the whale turned into glee as the Merry sailed out of the door. I ignored the fact that they had previously been in the whale, and swam over to them.

"HEY GUYS!" I shouted. I heard them yelling back ecstatically. There was a splash as I neared the boat, and I looked at the two people who had been thrown into the drink* with mild interest.

One was a female with long blue hair that was pulled up into a ponytail, with somewhat revealing clothing. The other was a man with the number 9 tattooed on both of his cheeks, and a crown on his blond head. I swam past them silently.

"It's the real sea, Ms. Wednesday."

"It seems, Mr. Nine, that those pirates…" She paused, for what I assumed to be dramatic effect. "…knocked us out." I almost choked on my own laughter. I reached the Merry, and Usopp threw down the ladder. I grasped it, and climbed up until I stood on deck, sopping wet while Usopp pulled the ladder back up. I walked over to where Luffy was leaning against the railing.

"Who are you guys anyway?" Luffy asked, flashing me a relieved grin. I smiled back, and turned to the two anomalies.

"Don't forget, Ms. Wednesday. Don't forget that our business is Pirates." The man called Mr. Nine said.

"That's right, Mr. Nine. The organization will be very interested in them." Ms. Wednesday said, pointing at us with a triumphant look on her face. "Just you wait!"

"We'll meet again, you hillbilly pirates!" Shouted Mr. Nine.

"And Crocus! One day we'll get that whale!" Ms. Wednesday added as they swam away at an incredible speed. I looked at Luffy curiously as he picked something off of the deck. It was a weirdly shaped bubble with a needle that looked like the kind of needle that would be in a compass inside it.

"What's this?" Luffy asked me.

"I don't know, Luffy-san." I said with a shrug. I turned around, and stepped backwards in shock as I saw a flower…person. "Who?..."

"He's Crocus." Sanji informed me. I glanced sideways at him.

"He was in the Whale also?" I asked.

"The whale is named Laboon, and yes." Sanji said. I nodded. "More importantly…" He went on. "You need new clothes, those ones are too wet." I nodded in agreement, and walked over to the door that led to the girls' room. Crocus the flower-man was standing beside it. I smiled at him, and then went inside.

When I walked out finally, wearing new clothing {of the exact kind I had been wearing before}, I looked around, and seeing no one, I headed to the railing of the ship. Everyone was sitting near the lighthouse that bordered the edge of where we had previously sailed from. I smiled, and jumped off of the ship, landing on the grass and running over to Luffy, who was leaning against a rock.

"-kept him waiting for a long time." He was saying. I smiled at him happily, and he smiled back. I looked over at who he was talking to, and saw Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp sitting at a round stone table. Sanji was sitting criss-cross on top of it while Zoro and Usopp were sitting on the chairs.

"Hmph." Sanji hmphed. "This is the Grand Line." I looked at him curiosly. What were they talking about? (Laboon?) Billy suggested. (That could be it.) I thought back.

"Those guys said they'd be back in a couple of years." Sanji went on, scowling and shoving his cigarette in our direction. I took a seat by Luffy, and tried to keep up. "It's been 50 years now. There's your answer." He blew smoke and looked irritated.

"They're dead. He'll be waiting for them till the end of time." He said ominously. Meanwhile, I was sitting on my hands to stop them from covering my ears. Laboon was crying at the mountain again, and being next to him while he was doing it was making my eardrums bleed.

***The sea**

**I'm going to end it there guys. Not as long as I'd like, but starting next week, the chapters will be longer for all three of my fanfics (Yaaay!) See you later lovies! Mwah mwah!**


	3. Christmas Omake :)

**Ureshiitamago: XD Merry Christmas! This is a Special Omake for you lovies! (And definitely ****_not_**** because I accidently lost the book that had the chapter I was writing for…)**

**Kretcher: Woohooo! Christmas! :D**

**Ureshiitamago: …I take it you like Christmas**

**Kretcher: Hell yeah! :D**

**Luffy: ALL THE MEAT!**

**Zoro: …Sake…**

**Ureshiitamago: Warning, this will take place when all of the canon characters are on the Thousand Sunny. After this chapter, I'll go back to the story. (If I find the book…) *rummages through messy floor* Gaaaah! Too many books!**

**Kretcher: She doesn't own One Piece or any canon characters…and she's dead if she doesn't find the manga. *pulls out knife and sharpens it***

**Omake Chapter: Have a Holly Jolly Christmas Everyone!**

"Have a holly jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the ye-" I sang before being cut off by Luffy.

"Whatcha singin' Skelly?" He asked me, hanging upside down from the roof of the lookout tower/weight room. I grinned at him happily and gestured to my red and green clothing. I had dressed up like an elf, complete with the pointy ears and the little bells on the tips of the shoes.

"It's Christmas. I'm singing a Christmas carol." I replied. He cocked his head to the side in confusion before his face eventually cleared up about two minutes later.

"Ooh, Christmas! The holiday with a lot of food!" He laughed heartily as I sweatdropped.

"Well, no…" I said. He looked at me with the most heartbroken look on his face.

"What? No food?" His eyes teared up. I waved my hands in front of me frantically.

"No, no, no. There's food! Lots of it!" I said, trying to bring his spirits back up. Like magic, his face brightened up.

"I just mean that Christmas is generally a celebration of friends and family. That's why there's a lot of food. You invite your friends and family to be with you to celebrate." I explained. Luffy's upside down face scrunched in thought.

"Ok." He said before jumping from the roof to the deck. I shook my head fondly and went back to cleaning Zoro's present, a new set of weights, while singing.

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tre-" the door slammed against the weights that I had strategically placed on top of the trap door to keep Zoro out. I heard some cursing from the other side.

"Oi, who's in there?" Zoro called out.

"Nobody." I called back, jingling the bells on Pusa's bracelet. (That sounds nice nya.) Pusa said. I grinned in agreement.

"Don't shit me; I know it's you Skeleton. Let me in." Zoro growled. He was probably cranky because it was his workout time. I stuck my tongue out at him even though he couldn't see.

"Not on the hairs of my chinny chin chin." I recited. There was silence from the other side of the door.

"What?" Zoro asked, sounding honestly perplexed.

"You are not coming in, Zoro-san. At least, not until I say you can." I said seriously.

"Make me stay out." I heard Zoro grumble. Before I could even begin to wonder what he meant by that, I squeaked as the weights slid off of the trapdoor as Zoro opened it with a grunt. I pouted as he stared at the weights scattered around me.

"Well, now you've spoiled the surprise." I said drily. "Merry Christmas Muscles." I sighed in exasperation as he stayed at the trapdoor, his brow furrowed in either puzzlement or embarrassment. I was leaning more towards the former. I huffed and walked past him, and descended to the deck. (Well, that surprise was ruined…) Billy remarked idly. (Yup.) I replied. (What're ya gonna do now?) He asked. (Making Brook's present. Any ideas Sharpclaw?) I asked the Gryphon. (Hmmm…I can lend some of my feathers to…) I listened to his idea eagerly, and ran to the girls' room to get what I needed.

**5 minutes of cursing, glue, nails, hammers, and many throbbing fingers later **

"Perfect!" I cried with a grin as I held up the present to the light. "Only…What exactly is it?" I asked Sharpclaw out loud, cocking my head to the side in a perplexed fashion. (It's an extremely old fashioned lute. Made with Gryphon feathers as the strings.) He said, sounding rather proud. I nodded.

"So, it's a mystery instrument." I summed up, using my Captains favorite expression for when he didn't understand something. (…sort of…) Sharpclaw mumbled while Endo, Pusa, and Billy guffawed at my reaction.

"Let's see…" I muttered. "Book of the history of my biological family for Robin-san, like she told me she wanted, new set of tools for Franky-san, weights for Zoro-san, mystery instrument for Brook-san, new paper and a homemade bracelet for Nami-san, new goggles for Usopp-san, medical books from my country for Chopper-chan, and cooking pans only found in my country for Sanji-nii." I counted off on my fingers. I grinned. "All that's left is Luffy-san." My smile faded as I considered what to buy/make for my Captain. Meat was always an option, but I didn't think that I should influence his train of thought that Christmas was all about meat. (Yes, _please_ steer his thoughts away from meat…) Endo mumbled irritably. Ever since Luffy had discovered that one of my Spirits was a shark, Luffy had pleaded with me to let him eat Endo. This was a constant source or both amusement and annoyance for me, and just a constant source of annoyance for Endo. I chuckled with the other spirits at his remark.

"What should I do?" I wondered aloud, tapping my chin with a finger. I hummed in thought. I finally shrugged, giving up. "Oh well. Christmas isn't for a few more days. I'll find something before then." Zoro had already received his presents, and when I passed his when he was climbing down onto the deck, I dragged his to the railing by his collar, the bells I was wearing jingling madly while I did so. I folded my arms and faced him.

"No telling anyone that you got your Christmas present early, or I'll throw you overboard…without your swords." The threat to his swords made his eyes narrow dangerously, but I pursed my lips and glared back. Finally, he broke the staring contest and looked away.

"Fine." He grunted. I smiled, and patted his shoulder.

"Thanks. It was supposed to be a surprise." I said before turning to walk away. A thought suddenly occurred to me, and I swung on my heels to face him again.

"What do you think Luffy would like for Christmas?" I asked him.

"Any food that was once living." Zoro answered immediately. I waved my hand in dismissal.

"I know _that_. Anything else?" I asked again hopefully. Zoro's brow furrowed in concentration.

"He likes his hat…" Zoro said after a while. A faint idea began to creep up on me, but when I tried to trap it, the idea evaded me. I hummed.

"Thanks." I said, and walked away to the girls' room to do some thinking. Nami was there, sitting at the desk and drawing her maps. I sat on my bed and swung my feet, making the bells on the end of my shoes jingle merrily.

"Hey there, Kretcher." Nami said with a sigh. I tilted my head to the side and smiled.

"Happy Christmas, Nami-san." I said cheerily. Nami turned in her seat to look at me.

"Christmas? Already?" She asked with wide eyes. I rolled mine, and gestured at my outfit.

"Why do you think I'm wearing this? Just for kicks?" The puffball on my hat fell into my face, and I went cross-eyed looking at it. I tried to blow it out of my face while Nami stared at me. I finally noticed that she was still looking at me after growing bored of trying to blow it out of my face.

"What?" I asked. I twisted my brain so that I could see her aura. It was a muddled green. She was very confused and amused.

"I thought Christmas was next week?" She said, making it sound like a question. I smiled and shook my head, and then pointed at her calendar.

"You forgot to cross off a week." I said, pointing at my own calendar. Her head snapped around to her calendar and her jaw dropped. I swallowed a snicker at her expression, and waited patiently.

"Crap, I forgot!" She exclaimed. I nodded patiently.

"Yeah, you did. Not important. What do you think Luffy-san would like for Christmas? He's the only one I haven't gotten presents for." I asked her. Nami stared at me for a moment. _She stares a lot…_ I thought to myself.

"Meat?" She suggested. I shook my head.

"Something other than meat." I said, trying not to sound exasperated.

"He likes his hat." She said. I smiled in amusement.

"Zoro-san said that too." I remarked. Her face scrunched up in thought.

"I don't know. Maybe something that has to do with his hat? It does look more beat up than it did before meeting Buggy." She said. The idea crept closer to my conscious brain, but I ignored it. I was treating it like I would a cat. Ignore it, and it will eventually curl up on your lap and let you pet it. I nodded again, the puff-ball bouncing on my head.

"Thanks, Nami-san. Do you know where Robin-san could be?"

"In the library."

"Thanks." I exited the room, and made my way to the library, the idea simmering in the back of my mind all the while. Before I opened the door to the library, I took off my shoes, and removed anything jingly on my person. Then, and only then did I open the door and enter the silence of the library. I smiled as I saw Robin sitting in a chair and reading an archeology book. I walked over and sat in the chair opposite her, waiting for her to either finish the book, or decide to put it down and talk.

I ended up waiting until she had finished the book for her to acknowledge my presence, but I didn't mind. I tended to ignore people when I was reading as well, so it didn't bother me as much as it did the others. She smiled gently at me.

"Hello Kretcher-san." She said. My grin widened at her use of my name. I could never get over the face that she was calling me by my name instead of my station.

"Hey Robin-san." I said brightly. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas." She returned, eyeing my outfit. I decided to cut to the chase as I saw the two piles of books on either side of her.

"I was wondering if you know of anything that could help to freshen up Luffy's hat?" I asked. She looked at me with understanding in her eyes.

"As a Christmas present, I take it." She guessed. I nodded enthusiastically. She sat back in her chair and raised her eyes to the ceiling in thought. My eyes drifted across the room as she was thinking, and I was tickled to see that she had decorated the library for the holidays. There was tinsel scattered around on the shelves, and little ornaments hung up various places. Most prominent in the decorations were candy canes. As I watched, a hand sprouted near the ceiling and hovered over a few candy canes before grabbing two and tossing them in our direction. I caught mine at the same time that Robin caught hers, and we smiled at each other before unwrapping them. I hummed at the minty goodness, and watched Robin, waiting for her answer. Something moved out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see another arms sprout on the top shelf. It grabbed a book and tossed it in my direction.

"Read that one." Robin said. I grinned at her as I wiped the dust off of the cover.

"Thanks, Robin-san." I said around my candy-cane. She nodded with a smile, and I exited the library. I walked over to the lawn-chairs and sat down, opening my book to a conveniently bookmarked page about taking care of straw-hats. I was deeply immersed in the chapter when I sensed a presence next to me. I looked up to see Sanji next to me with a tray in his hand. He set a mug of steaming liquid down on the table next to me.

"Hot chocolate, Cook style." He said. I smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Sanji-nii." I said. "Happy Christmas." He smiled.

"Happy Christmas." He returned before looking at the book I held in my hands. "Hats?" He asked, obviously confused. I nodded, the puffball on my hat bouncing around again.

"I have a gift for everyone except for Luffy-san, but I don't want to give him meat." I said. "The next best thing was his hat." Sanji nodded, and turned back to the kitchen. I took a sip of the hot chocolate, and smiled as I remembered Cook, the woman who told Sanji about the All Blue. The woman who thought of me as her own daughter.

"Happy Christmas, Cook." I whispered to myself, raising my mug to the sky. I finished the chapter, and closed the book, the figurative cat having finally sat in my lap.

2 Days later (Its Christmas!)

I laughed in amusement as everyone fought off Luffy's exuberant efforts at grabbing food at dinner. (How lovely.) Endo remarked drily as we watched Luffy attack fish meat. (It's food.) I countered. (It's fish) Endo shot back. (Girls, stop fighting, you're both pretty.) Billy said with a laugh. Pusa purred happily. I said nothing, and pushed Luffy's hand away when he tried to grab from my plate. Finally, everyone was done eating. I stood up.

"Stay here, and don't move." I ordered. I ran out of the room, and returned with an armload of presents.

"Zoro already received his." I said. I handed Robin her present first, and then moved around the table, handing out the presents. Nami was next, and then Usopp, Franky, Chopper, Sanji, and Brook. Finally, I reached Luffy.

"I'm going to have to borrow your hat for a moment." I said. Luffy looked at me curiously, but reluctantly handed over his hat. I took out the spray I had made with the help of both Robin and Chopper, and sprayed it on the hat. When I was done, I handed it back to Luffy, who popped it back onto his head immediately.

"What does that do?" He asked, nodding at the spray in my hand.

"It prevents wear and tear for up to six months." I said, handing over the spray. He grinned at me.

"Thanks, Skelly!" He said happily. I grinned in response.

"Happy Christmas!"

**So guys, I hoped you liked it! (The reason I haven't put out a chapter before this was for several reasons. One of which involved cleaning my room, and then having to mess it up again because I couldn't remember where I had put the manga I was using as a reference guide. :P oops. Sorry.) Well anyway lovies. Have a lovely Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or any other holiday that falls around this time of year that I don't know about. I wish you all the best, and there will be more (longer) chapters to come.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Ureshiitamago: Don't throw tomatoes at me…I know I promised to update sooner…but then Christmas, and family…ummm…yeah.**

**Kretcher: I liked Christmas.**

**Ureshiitamago: I know you did.**

**Kretcher: I still want a longer chapter though. Mem's been getting all the long ones recently.**

**Mem: *grins like the Cheshire cat***

**Ureshiitamago:…yeah, she has. In my defense, that's just because she is on an original time story.**

**Kretcher: I don't care. Long chapter. Now!**

**Ureshiitamago: O.o Fine fine!**

_ "__They're dead. He'll be waiting for them till the end of time." He said ominously. Meanwhile, I was sitting on my hands to stop them from covering my ears. Laboon was crying at the mountain again, and being next to him while he was doing it was making my eardrums bleed. _

**Chapter 3: Whales, cactuses, and bounty hunters. Oh my!**

"How can you be so cynical?!" Usopp cried. "You don't know that! They could still return!" He slammed the top of the table he was sitting at with his fist. It looked kind of painful. "It's the heartbreaking story of a whale that has never lost faith in his friends!" I glanced at Luffy, and saw the face he had had on during Syrup Island. His thinking face. I wondered what was going on in his head. (Nothing.) Billy grumbled. I figured that he was just irritated by Laboons' attempts at singing. (Maybe he's thinking of a way to…ah, there he goes!) I watched as Luffy ran off towards the ship. _Is he going to shoot the cannon? No, he went past it…why is he grabbing the mast?!_ I sat up straight and stared wide-eyed in the Merry's direction. I could hear Crocus talking in the background, not noticing what my idiot captain was doing. (He tore the mast off of the ship!) Sharpclaw cried. (Isn't that bad nya?!) exclaimed Pusa. I gaped as Luffy jumped towards Laboon.

"Zoro-san!" I cried, pointing at Laboon when I had gotten his attention. He turned towards Laboon, and remarked upon what he saw as casually as if he were talking about the weather. Meanwhile, Luffy had gotten to the top of Laboon's nose, and proceeded to stab the mast into Laboon's nasal area.

"Isn't that the mast…" Zoro said casually. "…of our ship?"

"Yeah, that's the main mast." I replied gloomily. There was a moment of silence from all of the parties. I took that moment to cover my ears for the onslaught of sound that was sure to follow. It was no use though, when one of the parties was a whale. I grimaced in pain at the shouts and screaming that attacked my ears through my hands. I watched as Laboon shook his head furiously, attempting to be rid of the mast that was now adorning his nose.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!" Yelled the other three while I sweatdropped at the scene. I could see the little dot that was probably Luffy holding onto the mast for dear life while it was being whipped back and forth. Suddenly, Laboon stopped, and looked in our direction. My eyes widened, and I whipped around the rock I was sitting against. I peeked around the side of the rock and watched wide-eyed as Laboon crashed his head onto the cliff. I shielded my face from the debris, and looked around for the others. They were scattered, and Crocus seemed to be freaking out that Laboon was going to kill Luffy. _As if…_ I thought with a sigh.

"WHA! HEY KID!" Crocus yelled. He started to run to where Luffy had been 'crushed', but was held back by Nami. I stood up and ran over to help.

"Watch out old man!" I yelled, dragging him backwards with my and Billy's strength combined. "Don't want you getting crushed!"

"And he'll be fine!" Nami yelled as she stared wide eyed at the whale. "Not even that whale can smash Luffy!" This (unsurprisingly) didn't seem to calm Crocus any. I continued to haul him backwards away from Laboon and Luffy's fight.

"Luffy-san will be fine, Crocus-ojii-san*." I said with a grunt as Crucus tried to lunge forward again. Luffy had been slammed into the lighthouse. I winced in sympathy, even though I knew that Luffy was rubber, and the impact probably hadn't even hurt all that much. Now Sanji and Zoro looked a little worried.

"Hey Luffy, what are you trying to do?!" They cried at the same time. _Wow. For two people who don't get along all that well, they sure are the same type of person aren't they?_ I thought. (Yep.) Billy remarked casually. I watched as Luffy grinned. (Stop listening in on my private thoughts _Father_.) I thought to him.

"IT'S A DRAW!" Luffy shouted to Laboon, who was swooping in for another blow. At Luffy's words, he stopped short and stared at the small human. (Never.) Billy thought back with steel in his voice. (You have to let herrrr have herrrr own thoughts nya.) Pusa remarked idly.

"I'm pretty strong, huh?" Luffy remarked, staring down Laboon with a smile on his face. I let go of Crocus. (But what if she likes someone?!) whined Billy. (Ew, no!) I thought with disgust.

"Our match isn't over yet. We still have to settle it." Luffy said to Laboon.

"Your friends may be gone for good," I started, and looked at Laboon. His friends, gone? Why was I always the last to hear? "But now you've got a rival…me!" I saw Laboon starting to tear up, and I smiled lightly.

"After we circle the Grand Line…" Laboon teared up more, "I'm coming back here…" The tears started to flow out of his eyes. I felt my chest tighten. "AND WE'RE GOING TO FIGHT AGAIN!" Luffy finished, throwing his arms into the air. I blinked away tears and smiled instead. This time I didn't cover my ears when Laboon let out a cry.

"BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

**5 minutes and a bad paint job later…**

I rolled on the grass, clutching my stomach as laughter and tears left me completely useless. Luffy's artistic ability was as horrid as always, and every time I saw it on the poor whale's nose, I lost my cool and started to crack up all over again. Finally, I dragged myself to the table where Nami was sitting, wheezing and trying to catch my breath.

"Well, you look the worse for wear…" Nami remarked idly as she flipped open a book. I lay my head on the table.

"Kill me now." I begged her. "I don't think my stomach muscles can hold out for much longer." I groaned and clutched my stomach dramatically.

"Well, you shouldn't have been watching Luffy paint in the first place." she remarked drily. When I looked up at her though, she had an amused expression on her face. I grinned happily.

"I couldn't help it, Nami-san. Luffy-san's painting style is really something else!" she stared at me for a moment or two.

"You know, this is the first time since Kuroyuki-jima that you've laughed so much…" she remarked. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment.

"Yeah, well…" I coughed. "What're you doing?" I asked, trying to change the subject. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't follow the previous conversation longer than that.

"I'm planning out our voyage." she said with a grin, lifting up the book to show me the maps she had spread out before her. I hummed.

"You do know that Luffy-san probably won't take the safest way, yes?" I asked curiously, and was rewarded with a groan.

"I _know_!" Nami said exasperatedly. "Well, anyway. I have to check our bearings…" she pulled out a compass as I remembered something.

"Ah, Nami-sa" I was cut off as she let out the loudest shriek I had ever heard. I held my hands over my ringing ears and stared at her in shock.

"What's all the racket?" Luffy asked, still holding the ginormous paint brush that he had used to paint the Strawhat insignia on Laboon. He looked a little miffed at Nami's banshee-like shriek. Sanji swirled over to us with plates of food. The food looked tasty, and I could feel my mouth start to salivate.

"What's wrong Nami?!" He cried, balancing plates on his head, knee, foot, and hands. "If it's lunch you want, I have it all ready! 3" Usopp climbed up from the ship, where he had been repairing the mast.

"All right, it's time for lunch." Usopp said. As soon as Sanji set down the food, I sent him a thank you smile, and dug into the plate he had set before me. It had some of my favorite recipes from home, and they all tasted delicious.

"THE COMPASS!" Nami shouted in a panic. "IT'S BROKEN! IT'S SPINNING LIKE CRAZY!" I knew the reason why, from my brothers letters to me, but couldn't say anything because of the food in my mouth. I noticed Crocus looking at me oddly, so I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head in Nami's direction, and pointed at my full mouth. He seemed to understand what I was saying. He walked over to Nami.

"You came to the Grand Line unprepared. Were you planning on throwing your lives away?" He asked. I sweatdropped. Way to start a conversation, big guy. (It is reality though.) Endo remarked. I mentally nodded in agreement. "I told you, there's nothing normal about this ocean." _When did he say that?_ I wondered. _Probably when they were all inside the whale…wow, I missed out on a lot…_

"Your compass isn't broken." Crocus said. _Ah, _now_ he gets to it._

"Then what is it?" Nami asked uncertainly. "A magnetic field?" I didn't have any food in my mouth at this point, and I was poised to take another bite, but it seemed Crocus noticed. _Damn._

"That young lady there seems to know." He remarked, jerking his thumb in my direction. I sweatdropped as all gazes except for Luffy's turned to me. I swatted his hand away from my plate and cleared my throat.

"Well, what I could tell from my brother's letters to me," I started, pretending not to notice their sour looks at the mention of my brother, "The islands in Grand Line are rich in minerals, and the region is filled with abnormal magnetic fields." I swatted Luffy's hand away again.

"To make matters worse, the sea and wind currents follow no clear pattern. My brother nearly got lost several times trying to find his way back to his Master's island, so this is dangerous." I stabbed the fork I held in my hand near Luffy's wandering fingers, and he pulled back with a small yelp.

"If we were to set sail without knowing this, we would surely perish." I noticed Usopp pale at those words. "And without any other way of telling direction, our journey would be hopeless." I dimly recollected that my brother had mentioned some kind of device that locked onto an island's magnetic signature, but couldn't remember exactly what it was. I mentally shrugged and went back to eating.

"I didn't know…" Nami said, sweatdropping and looking sheepish. Usopp did his little what-the-hell face.

"THIS IS BAD! CAN YOU HANDLE IT?" He shouted in my ear. I stuffed a roll in his mouth to shut him up. (That wasn't verrrry nice) commented Pusa. I highly doubt that she cared all that much though, because she sounded like she was amused.

"Nami! You're still cute even when you don't know something!" Sanji cried, practically salivating. I sweatdropped at the scene, and slapped Luffy's hands away from my plate again.

"SHUT UP!" Nami yelled at the two of them. I picked up a fish-steak before Luffy could eat all of it. It was a big one that could be cut into several pieces. I resolved to save it for the crew, I was done eating anyway. I continued to fend off Luffy's hands as they grabbed for the steak. Finally, he grabbed a different piece and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Hey, the Bluefin trunk is good!" He said around the meat. I sweatdropped as Endo started to complain. (Is he eating _fish_?! How DARE he!) (Endo, calm down, the fish has been dead for a while now…) (That doesn't matter! I used to protect the sea fish! This is personal! Let me fight him!) (You'd lose, and then get eaten. So, no.) I cut off Endo's rantings and tuned back into the conversation outside of my head.

"You've got to have a Log Pose if you're going to sail the Grand Line." Crocus was saying. _Ah, Log Pose, that was it._ I thought as I slapped Luffy's hands away from the steak again.

"A Log Pose?" Nami asked. "What's that?" Crocus looked at me, but I shook my head. I didn't know enough about those to explain to them properly. My brother would, but he was definitely dead.

"It's a special compass that records magnetic fields." Crocus said. _Wow, he sounds like the royal tutor…_ I thought, slapping Luffy's hand again. Did he _ever_ give up?

"You mean a weird compass?" Luffy asked innocently, a fish steak poking out of his mouth. _Eat with a fork and knife!_ I yelled at him mentally. Of course, he didn't hear.

"They have an unusual shape…" Crocus said. Luffy held up the orb thing he had picked up earlier.

"Like this?" Luffy asked.

"Yes, like that." Crocus replied, not even asking how Luffy had one. I sweatdropped. The observation levels were off the charts…

"Just getting into the Grand Line is hard enough." Crocus went on, "Without a Log Pose, navigation is impossible." I nodded, and slapped Luffy's hand away again. He pouted at me, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"I see." Nami said. She held out a hand to stop any further words. "But wait a second." She looked at Luffy, and I saw what was coming. I hovered over the fish steak protectively, and was able to save it from being crushed as Luffy flew over my head after Nami's fist connected with his face. I was amazed that he was able to keep a hold of the fish that was in his mouth.

"WHERE'D YOU GET THAT?!" Nami yelled. She had somehow grown shark teeth.

"Those strange people dropped it when they left." Luffy replied, none the worse for wear.

"Those two?" Nami asked.

"Why'd you hit me?" Luffy demanded.

"Just 'cause." Nami replied.

"Just 'cause?" Luffy repeated in bewilderment. Nami took the Log Pose from him and strapped it onto her wrist, and then proceeded to examine it. I watched while continuing to defend the crew's portion of the fish from Luffy and his bottomless pit for a stomach.

"So this is a Log Pose." Nami remarked, staring at the needle inside the orb.

"The many islands of the Grand Line have magnetic fields that operate according to their own peculiar laws." Crocus said seriously. "Therefore, you must record the magnetic field that connects one island to another in the Log Pose, and then sail to the next island." I tuned out the rest of the conversation as Luffy started to up his efforts in attaining the last piece of fish that I was protecting. I was able to tune back in once Luffy stopped to listen to something that Crocus was saying though.

"…Raftel, it's the last island of the Grand Line." He said, suddenly looking foreboding with his arms crossed over his chest, and a dark look in his eyes.

"In all of history, only one group of pirates is known to have landed there for sure…the crew of the Pirate King. Raftel is the stuff of legend." _He talks like he's been there…_ I thought. _Naw._

"Is that where it is?" Usopp demanded, looking extremely excited. "The One Piece?!" The rest of us caught onto his mood quickly, and we all looked at Crocus expectantly. Luffy had given up trying to get the fish I was guarding, and was eating bones.

"Perhaps." Crocus said, turning away from us. "No other legend is as tempting, yet no one else has ever reached that island." _Foreboding indeed.._ I thought. (It isn't that bad.) Endo remarked. (You've been there?) (Yes.) (Don't tell me anything about it. I want to see for myself.) (Ok.)

"You mean…" Luffy said, "until _we_ get there." The rest of us smiled. "Alright, let's go. I'm done eating." He lay back with a burp, and I picked up a knife to cut the fish that was left. Once I had finished cutting it equally, I handed it out to the rest of the crew, saving some for Zoro, who was probably sleeping. They thanked me, and berated Luffy for eating almost all of it. Sanji was nagging him most of all, and I sweatdropped as he kicked Luffy past Nami, and over the Log Pose she was examining again…and broke it. I could _hear_ Nami's mind snap, and I watched with a growing sense of unease as Sanji looked at her with hearts coming from the top of his head. _Ah, Sanji-nii…how clueless you are right now…_I thought with a sigh as Nami kicked both Luffy and Sanji into the sea.

"GO SOAK YOUR HEADS!" She shouted, and then turned to Crocus.

"Was that really necessary?" I mumbled about the same time that Usopp shouted; "HEY! WASN'T THAT THING REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT?!"

"What'll we do, Crocus?" Nami asked the flower-man. "Our Log Pose is…" she didn't seem to want to finish her sentence.

"Don't panic." Crocus said with a kind smile. "You can have mine as thanks for helping Laboon." _What a kind old man._ I thought. (Yep, he sure is.) Billy said. An angry vain popped out on my head. (Billy-tousan*…What did I say about my private thoughts?!) Sharpclaw answered me instead. (He's never going to listen, you know.) (Maybe he'll listen to you, Sharpclaw-okaasan*.) I suggested playfully. Sharpclaw grumbled that 'he wasn't a girl', and pouted in his earring.

"Sure is noisy out there." I commented to no one, looking out at the sea. "Hmmm?" I peered out, and saw a tiny speck. (Pusa-nesan*, if you'd please?) Her eyes replaced mine, and my vision multiplied ten-fold. I could see Ms. Wednesday and Mr. Nine from earlier on a raft. They were yelling at something above them. I switched my gaze up, and saw an…otter…with sunglasses, and wearing polka dots…riding…a vulture? I blinked. The otter was holding a shell, and it was swinging it in the direction of the bluenette and the blondie. The vulture {also wearing sunglasses} was holding a package in its beak. I switched my gaze back to Ms. Wednesday and Mr. Nine, and saw that they looked absolutely terrified. (Pusa-nesan?) Immediately, I could feel my ears becoming Pusa's cheetah ears, and I tuned into their conversation.

"-MR. THIRTEEN!"

"MS. FRIDAY!"

"WAIT, IT WASN'T OUR FAULT!" The two on the raft were panicking. "SOME PIRATES JUMPED US!" _Meaning us?_ I thought curiously.

"WE'LL EXPLAIN EVERYTHING TO THE BOSS!" _Boss?_ "WE DIDN'T BETRAY HIM!" Pusa's cat ears picked up ticking in the package. _A bomb!_ I thought, eyes widening slightly. _Just who is this boss who kills underlings that can't do their duty?_ The otter slammed the shell on a rope that was connected to the package, which subsequently lit on fire. As they flew over the terrified duo on the raft, the vulture dropped the package. Pusa quickly took back her eyes and ears to partially save me from the sound of the blast. It was too fast for me to see what had become of the two though. I sighed, and turned back to the table where Nami was cooing over a new Log Pose. I whipped back around when I heard four gasping breaths, and saw Sanji, Luffy, Ms. Wednesday, and Mr. Nine emerge from the water. The two that had been blown up had survived mostly unscathed. Sanji noticed them, and of course, he helped the bluenette up.

"Allow me…" Sanji said, getting down on one knee and elegantly holding out his hand. "…Ms. Wednesday." _How dramatic…_ I thought idly.

"Oh, thank you." She said, taking his hand with a polite smile. I watched in amusement as Mr. Nine gaped at them walking away from him.

"HEY!" He shouted. "We have a request." He pulled himself over the cliff-top and walked over to the table where we were sitting, Ms. Wednesday joining him. They sat in seiza* in front of us.

"What's Whisky Peak?" I asked after they had explained the request they had for us.

"It's the name of our town." Mr. Nine said. I noticed that he was sweating a little bit.

"You lost your ship, and you want us to take you home?" Nami asked. I groaned silently, and resisted the urge to face-palm. She was using her 'business voice'. The one guaranteed to get the best deal.

"Why should we help you…Mr. Nine?" she asked, squatting down to look him in the eye. "You tried to kill that whale."

"Who are you guys, anyway?" Usopp asked them, looking over his long nose. I wondered idly if it ever got in his way for sharpshooting.

"I am a king." Mr. Nine responded immediately. Nami pinched his cheek. "OW!"

"Liar." She said. Mr. Nine and Ms. Wednesday looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously going into a deep bow, their heads nearly touching the ground.

"We can't tell you!" they cried in distraught voices. "We just want to go home! We promise to repay you!" Ms. Wednesday was shaking.

"It isn't our fault! Our work requires us to be secretive." She said. "That's all we can reveal. We appeal to your kindness and compassion." Crocus spoke up them, voice full of distrust. I couldn't blame him, after what they tried to do to Laboon.

"Don't trust them, those two are no good." I agreed with him wholeheartedly, though there was something about Ms. Wednesday that made me curious. I decided to tone out the conversation and take a look at her aura.

_Hmmm…_ I examined her aura thoughtfully, mentally tugging the strands here and there with an invisible hand to see further into her complex aura. _I have never seen an aura this tangled and messy…_ There was one prominent color, a royal purple, and a deeper color than my own. _That must be the aura she was born with…let's see…_ I tugged here and there, making sure that my meddling was light so that she wouldn't feel it too much. There was despair, hope, faith, honor, compassion, loyalty, and her main aura. I was shocked at the third most prominent color aside from hope and loyalty. Anger. Lots of it. I stared at her thoughtfully for a while, not really paying attention to the conversation all that much. I had seen Luffy's aura out of the corner of my eye. He was going to help them no matter what. I was right.

"It's ok, you can come with us." He remarked. I smirked, looking at him, and missed Ms. Wednesday's nervous glance in my direction.

**A little later**

I walked into the kitchen with the intent on fixing myself a sandwich, when I saw that Sanji had already done that, and was holding it out to me. I smiled as I took it.

"Thank you, Sanji-nii." I said. He grinned, and indicated a glass of water with his hand.

"Some water for you too. I know it's your favorite!" He said enthusiastically. I laughed in amusement, and grabbed the water from the table. We were loading our ship with supplies that Crocus had given us, and I was taking a small break. There was a moment of silence.

"Umm." Sanji looked a little awkward.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Did…Cook…" I blinked, and then realized what he was trying to ask. I looked at him sadly.

"No. She was one of the first to die." I said. Sanji sighed, but then brightened up.

"Well, she wouldn't have wanted us to bemoan her death, would she?" He said. I smiled and shook my head.

"No, she wouldn't." I finished my sandwich, and the both of us walked out onto the deck, chatting about people from my past that we both knew. For some reason, talking about it made my heart lighter, but I didn't dwell on that feeling. Nami was looking from a map to the Log Pose.

"Yup, it's all set." I noticed Crocus near where she was standing. They must've been talking. "It's pointing to Whisky Peak." Crocus nodded, and then turned his attention to Luffy, who was standing near the Merry's head.

"Are you sure you want to take those two, boy?" Crocus asked him. "Once you've chosen your course, there's no changing it." Luffy looked thoughtful for all of two seconds.

"If we don't like it, we'll just sail around again." Luffy said matter of factly. Crocus smiled.

"So you will." He said. I noticed a slightly ugly aura coming from our passengers. They were snickering while holding their pinkies out. I sweatdropped. _They know that we can see them, right?_ I wondered. (Most likely not.) Billy said. (Rhetorical question, and get out of my personal thoughts. You don't see me invading yours.) I said, slamming down blocks between our communication channel until there was only a tiny thread.

"Goodbye, flower-man." Luffy said good-naturedly.

"Thanks for the Log Pose!" Nami called out. I smiled and waved.

"Good luck to you." Crocus said, planting his hands on his hips.

"GOODBYE, WHALE!" Luffy yelled to the whale.

"BWAAAAAAAAAAH!" Replied Laboon.

**After a while, and heavy snowfall…**

I sat outside on the railing, sipping some hot chocolate that Sanji had made me. I was watching Usopp and Luffy making snowmen, and though Usopp's was a beautiful rendition of that Kaya girl I knew he liked, Luffy's was more entertaining. There was two balls of snow used for the body and head, the top one only slightly smaller than the bottom one, a barrel for a hat, and a stick for a nose. I chuckled, eyeing Luffy's hat. It had so much snow covering it that it didn't show the top of the hat anymore. I outright laughed when Luffy destroyed Usopp's snow-Kaya by hitting one of the stick-arms from his snowmen into her face. Usopp's face was priceless. Sanji was shoveling snow behind me, and refused whenever I offered my help. I stared up at the sky, watching the flakes fall, ignoring the conversations around me for a moment. (What do you think about Ms. Wednesday?) I asked my spirits. (She doesn't _look_ like someone who would purposefully harm a whale.) Endo replied thoughtfully. (I agree.) Sharclaw said. (Me too.) Billy grumbled, still put out that he could only participate in conversations that I initiated with him. (Pusa?) I asked the silent cheetah spirit. (Let me think on this.) Pusa said. I agreed, and fell over backwards when another one of Nami's screams cut through the air.

"What in the world?!" I shouted, standing up and vaulting over the railing I had previously been sitting on. I landed with a soft thud on the deck, and looked towards the kitchen/dining room. Nami ran out, looking extremely frazzled.

"TURN THE SHIP AROUND 180%! HURRY!" She yelled, eyes wide and hands gripping the railing.

"A hundred and eighty degrees?!" Usopp yelled. "Why are we turning back?!"

"Did you forget something?" Luffy asked. I fell sideways a little bit. _She wouldn't be acting like that if she just _forgot_ something…_ I thought exasperatedly, even though he couldn't hear me.

"NO!" Nami screamed. "Somehow the ship got turned around! We're going back the way we came! I only took my eyes off of the Log Pose for a second! And the sea was so smooth…" I thought back at the letters from my brother. Nami suddenly kicked Mr. Nine and Ms. Wednesday out of the kitchen/Dining room.

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING AND START HELPING!" she yelled irritably. Nami began shouting out orders that I and the others followed mindlessly. My eyes started to turn swirly as we went from spring, to fog, to icebergs, and to storms. Finally, we all were able to lie down when the weather suddenly stabilized. We were exhausted, having run around without stop for almost three hours or more. I was leaning against the railing next to a sleeping Zoro, panting. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he stretched and yawned. He stood up and walked to the center of the deck.

"What a peaceful nap." He said. I sweatdropped. _Seriously?_

"Hey, I know it's a beautiful day, but shouldn't you guys be working?" He asked. A vain popped out on my head.

"Are you seriously nagging us, Zoro-san?" I mumbled, too tired to make it loud enough for him to hear.

"I hope we're sailing in the right direction."

_WHY YOU!_

Zoro noticed the passengers finally. I tuned out the conversation as a waste of energy when I should be trying to stand up again. I grabbed the top of the railing, and hoisted myself up. I walked over to the stairs that led to the upper deck, and glared at them

"Bring it on." I grumbled, and started to climb them. By the time I got up to where everyone else was, we could see Whisky Peak. I twisted my mind to turn on my 'aura eyes'. There were a lot of people. All intending to harm. I stood quietly as we traveled into the mist, not even reacting to Mr. Nine's and s. Wednesday's sudden and soggy departure. There was only one thought on my mind as we traveled through the mist.

_Bounty hunters._

***Grandpa (you call someone who is old this. White hair old, not 5 years older old.)**

***dad**

***mom**

***big sister**

***on your knees, a polite (and traditional) way of sitting in Japan. In this case, it is used to ask a favor.**

***Bows repeatedly, and then hides behind a rock* Sorry! I didn't mean to! I hope you like the extra long chapter! I will update again sooon! Goodbye lovies, and a great thanks to acacia626, avatoa, DragonLord RyuKizoku, Spricket, Lady Ayuka, and Mylittlepirateking for following/favoriting my story! It really means so much to me! (I would like review too, but I have a feeling that it won't be happening in the foreseeable future…)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Ureshiitamago: …well, I just looked back, and counted the months…almost 6 months! At the end of January, Spirit contract will be a half a year old! XD SQUEEE~!**

**Kretcher: Don't mind her, she's just overly enthusiastic…**

**Ureshiitamago: My writing has improved, and with it, you have grown more and more annoying…**

**Kretcher: Good.**

**Ureshiitamago: Why does she hate me? Anyway, disclaimer, I don't own One Piece, yada yada yada… I wish I owned One Piece!**

**Kretcher: …let's start!**

**Ureshiitamago: TT^TT O-ok. **

_ "__Bring it on." I grumbled, and started to climb them. By the time I got up to where everyone else was, we could see Whisky Peak. I twisted my mind to turn on my 'aura eyes'. There were a lot of people. All intending to harm. I stood quietly as we traveled into the mist, not even reacting to Mr. Nine's and s. Wednesday's sudden and soggy departure. There was only one thought on my mind as we traveled through the mist._

Bounty hunters.

**Chapter 4: Bounty hunter parties, and a princess.**

I grit my teeth and glared accusingly at the railing.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked. I shook my head, not wanting to worry them just yet.

"I-I hope there's not m-monsters and stuff." Usopp said, his voice quavering. I turned around and sat on a railing.

"There's not." I said, trying to cheer him up. It worked, he looked a little less nervous than he did before.

"But that's a definite possibility." Sanji remarked. "We _are_ on the Grand Line." I nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but there aren't any on this island." I repeated. _Unless you count the human ones…_ I thought to myself.

"Shishishi." Luffy laughed. "If there were any, we'd just run away." he said.

"Hold it." Nami commanded. "Don't forget, we can't leave right away." I glanced at the Log Pose on her wrist.

"How come?" Luffy asked.

"Because the Log Pose needs time to set." I answered for Nami. She nodded as the others looked at me with slight confusion. "Nami-san?" I indicated that she should explain the rest. I lifted my legs and spun around to face outside the Merry. (Don't fall.) Billy said gruffly. (Wow, you sound like a mother instead of a dad. Doesn't he, Sharpclaw-okasan?) I said playfully. (Leave me out of this, please.) Sharpclaw said good naturedly.

"You mean, if this island is full of monsters, we might have to stick around for days?!" Usopp was shouting. I sighed. (Didn't I just tell him that there are no monsters on this island? Aside from the _human_ ones I mean…) I complained to the spirits. (He doesn't seem like a verrry good listener nya.) Pusa replied.

"Looks like we have to enter through a river." I stated, overhearing the rest of the conversation going on behind us. "How fun."

"Ah! I just remembered!" Luffy called. I had to hold on to the railing to keep from falling overboard as Luffy crashed into me. "Ne, Skelly! I didn't know that you were a mermaid." A sweatdrop ran down my head.

"I am not a mermaid, Luffy-san." I replied, more than a little confused.

"Than why did you turn all blue and have…uh…frills?" He asked.

"You mean gills."

"That's what I said."

"…"

"So why?" He asked again. It suddenly clicked.

"Ooh, you mean to say that you didn't know that I had made a contract with a shark spirit?" I asked in surprise. I sweatdropped again as drool appeared out of the corner of Luffys' mouth.

"Shark is the best meat." Luffy said, his eyes going sparkly. "Can I eat it?!" My jaw dropped to the ground.

"NO!" I shrieked, about the same time that Zoro spoke up.

"I can hear people talking." Luffy and I immediately quieted, and we strained to hear. "But I can't see 'em through the mist." He added. I shifted on the railing I was perched on uneasily. What were those bounty hunters up to? Through the mist, we could hear shouts.

"Alert the town! Pirates!"

"PIRATES ARE HERE!" We emerged from the mist, and saw before us…people cheering!? My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I glanced around with my 'aura vision' on. Yes, they were still blood thirsty. My guard didn't waver, but I put on a smile mask similar to the one I had been wearing when Luffy had first asked me to join my crew. I could feel him frowning slightly at me, but at the moment, I was trying to keep bounty hunters from noticing that I noticed that they were bounty hunters. Luffy moved from next to me over to his special seat again, and looked out at the crowd with something close to awe on his face.

"They're not monsters." Usopp said from behind me. "They're welcoming us." I fought the urge to smack him upside the head. Of all the times to be ignored…

"What's going on?" Sanji asked. I noticed that he sounded a little on edge, like he didn't quite believe that people would welcome pirates. _That's because they're bounty hunters_. I thought with a small sigh. He was lost though, once he saw that there were pretty girls amidst the crowd. A sweatdrop slid down my head as I watched his eyes turn into hearts. Usopp was blowing kisses to the crowd.

"What a welcome!" He shouted. "Pirates are heroes to these people!" I lifted an eyebrow, and looked at Nami and Zoro, who were looking almost as apprehensive about this as I felt. We landed, and when we disembarked from the Merry, we met a tall and heavy man whose hair was by far too curled. He was carrying a saxophone. (Pusa.) she was silent for a moment. (Gunpowderrrrr in the saxa…whateverrrr you called it nya.) She replied. _A weapon._ I thought, trying not to eye the weapon too much.

"Eerr…ahem! Maa-maa-maa." The man started. I raised an eyebrow at his curious throat clearing. "Welcome, my name is Igaroppoi." He said with a smile. I decided to hear him out for laughs. "No doubt this all comes as a surprise to you. This is Whisky Peak, a bustling town of ale brewing and music. We pride ourselves in our hospitality." I looked around at the cacti.

"We're proud of our ale, and have an ocean of it." He went on. _Aand there goes Zoro-san to the dark side…_ I remarked in my head.

"We'd love to hear the tales of your adventures. Would you be so kind as to join…ahem!...maa-maa-maa…a celebration in your honor!?" I placed my hands behind my head, and looked to Luffy, who was commenting on Igarappoi's hair. Then he linked arms with Usopp and Sanji, and they danced around.

"YOU BET WE WOULD!" They shouted. I laughed at their hijinks as Nami and Zoro looked on with irritated faces.

"Say." Nami turned to Igarappoi and held up her wrist to indicate the Log Pose. "How long will it take to Log this island?" she asked. I was still laughing at Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji, and I shifted back so I was next to Zoro.

"Log?" Igarappoi looked a little irritated for a split second, and then his face turned warm. "Please set aside such trivial matters!" He remarked. "Rest from your travels." He slung his arm around Nami's shoulders and guided her away. I followed behind them with Zoro.

I watched from a window in the house that we were partying in as the moon rose over the cactuses. (Pusa?) I asked, taking an extremely small sip from the mug that had been thrust into my hands. (Yes nya?) She replied. (What are those?) I asked. She looked through my eyes at the cacti. (….Sharrrrrpclaw dear nya?) Sharpclaw replaced her behind my eyes. (Grave stones.) Sharpclaw said. (Ah.) I took another small sip and listened as Usopp continued to talk himself to sleep. I sweatdropped. _Is that even possible?_ Nami out drank 12 people, Luffy out ate a cook, and Sanji was flirting with 20 girls at once. I sighed and turned back to the moon. _A half-moon_. I thought. (Ne, Billy.) I got his attention. (Do you want to join me out here?) He smiled in assent, and I looked around to make sure no one was paying much attention to me. I didn't really like parties when there were people I didn't know attending, so I had effectively disappeared when it had started. No one was paying me any mind. There was a small flash, and Billy was sitting next to me. He took the beer from my hand.

"Thanks." I said in relief. "I thought I was going to have to drink it all." He grinned at me.

"Bounty hunter party, eh?" He said. "I think you've hit a new low." I pouted at him.

"Not my fault." I muttered, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"I'm guessing it's half moon, or I would be a stuffed doll." Billy remarked, looking out the window idly. I could hear no accent, he was almost fully recovered from the long sleep he was made to take.

"Yup." I said, popping the 'p'. Billy smiled, and then looked at me seriously.

"Your captain was wondering why you put that mask back on." He said. I frowned at him.

"What have I told you about getting into other peoples' minds like that?" I demanded. He lifted an eyebrow at me.

"I didn't. His thought popped out at me." Billy defended. "I also think that sometimes he can hear us when we mind speak." He added, almost as an afterthought. My eyebrows scrunched, and I looked over to where Luffy looked like a balloon.

"How is that possible?" I asked Billy. "No one I know could do that. Except for maybe Coral-san, but she's dead." Billy flinched at the name of the woman who helped us without any reason to.

"Still a sore subject?" I asked Billy. He nodded, and I clapped a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. I knew how he felt, I missed her too. He coughed into his fist, and returned to the conversation we had been having.

"I don't know why or how….wait. What's his full name?" Billy asked. I looked at him in confusion.

"Monkey D. Luffy." I answered. "Why?" Billy's face cleared up.

"Ah, so he's a 'D' boy." Billy said cryptically. I could feel a tic mark on my forehead. I poked Billy on the shoulder.

"Hey, what do you mean?" I asked. Billy shook his head.

"Not right now." Billy replied. "It's too early." He looked around at my crewmates, who were falling asleep one by one. "I think you should sleep." He said. The other spirits appeared as stuffed animals. I grabbed the Pusa one.

"We'll watch over you."

I smiled and closed my eyes, resting my head against the windowsill. Most times I'm a heavy sleeper, but it seemed that spending a night surrounded by bounty hunters made me a light sleeper. Even when my spirits were guarding me, I woke up at the slightest noise.

It was when I woke up for the fifth time that I saw Zoro leaving.

"Where are you going?" I whispered harshly, glancing at Billy, who was leaning against the wall next to me. Zoro turned back.

"I'm going to try out my new swords." He whispered back. I blinked, and then smiled.

"Ah, then godspeed." I said, and turned back over under the blankets that had mysteriously appeared on me some time that night. I heard him chuckle.

"I don't believe in God." He said as he left.

"Hahaa." I laughed quietly, and went back to sleep.

The next time I was awoken, it was by Nami. I lifted my head groggily, and looked at her questioningly. She was halfway to the door, but turned around at the sound of my movement and held a finger up to her lips.

"Shhiiii." I glanced at Billy, who looked faintly amused.

"Can I go too?" I asked in a whisper. Nami hesitated. I gave her puppy-dog eyes. "Please? I'll be good!" She scowled at my use of the puppy-dog eyes but nodded. Billy grabbed my arm as I made to go.

"Go in the form of Pusa." He said, nodding to the Spirit/stuffed animal in my arms. Pusa looked up at me, and there was a light, and we were one. We padded silently over to Nami.

"Arrrrrre we going now nya?" We asked, pulling our whiskers back in a feline smile. Nami looked a little nervous, but smiled and nodded.

"Remember," Nami whispered, finger to her lips, "quiet until I talk." We nodded courteously.

"We rrrrrememberrrrrrrr nya." we replied, padding past her and out the door. Once outside, we blinked in shock at the amount of bounty hunter bodies littering the ground. Nami stopped beside us.

"He's a monster all right…" we heard her mutter under her breath. We looked up at her, and internally winced at her feral grin. "one who _owes_ me." Our eyes widened at that statement, and the one thought going through our head was; _Poorrrr chap nya_

We followed Nami as she led us across a few streets, and up some ladders until she perched herself on top of a building with her feet dangling over the edge. We sat next to her and tucked our tail over our paws, the perfect example of what every feline with pride in their race should look like. Below us was the Mayor, Igarappoi, facing two people. One was a girl who decorated herself with lemons, and the other was a man with a wimpy afro who wore red. The lady was holding an umbrella, and we sweatdropped. _There is no rrrrrrain nya…_we thought.

Ms. Wednesday and Mr. Nine were almost pleading with them to help them defeat Zoro-san.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The bad-afro man asked them. I could smell the shock in the air, along with a smidge of fear. Why would they be afraid of a laughing woman and a bad-afro man?

"You said that we came here to help you?" The man continued. "You think that we came to the Grand Line just to do that?" he laughed creepily, and our hackles rose. We shifted our gaze to look at Nami, who was looking a little scared, and she was glancing around. Perhaps looking for Zoro? We closed our eyes and tuned out the conversation going on down below, listening instead for the breathing pattern of our crewmates. Nami's was next to us, quick and frightened, Luffy's was moving at a regular speed for someone walking, and Zoro's was moving at a speed for a fast walk, and it was growing closer. We snapped our eyes open, and looked towards the direction we had heard his breathing pattern coming from. I watched, and he ambled onto a roof across from us and sat down, listening to the conversation below while drinking ale. We sweatdropped.

"Damn, if I let Luffy stay over there…" he trailed off and wiped off a line of ale from where it had dripped on his face. He still hadn't noticed us or Nami.

"The traitors are the people who have secretly disappeared from Alabasta…" the bad-afro man was saying. We reluctantly returned to the conversation after nudging Nami and pointing out Zoro. The Mayor Igarappoi suddenly stood up and pulled on his tie. Bullets flew out of his oversized curls at the bad-afro man.

"DIE! IGARAPPA!" He shouted. We purred uncertainly and shifted our front paws.

"IGARAM!" shouted Ms. Wednesday. _So his trrrrrue name is Igarrrram nya._ We thought with interest. We stared unblinkingly at the scene below us, occasionally looking at Nami, who was hiding behind what looked to be a chimney. Ms. Wednesday's partner – Mr. Nine – looked absolutely clueless.

"IGARAM!" she shouted again.

"PLEASE ESCAPE NOW!" the newly named Igaram shouted at Ms. Wednesday. Suddenly, the giggle-woman flew up into the air and hurdled down towards Ms. Wednesday as if she had lost all of her weight, and then immediately gained it back.

"That's not going to work!" she said with a giggle. She kicked at Ms. Wednesday from two feet above her head and shattered Ms. Wednesday's golden hair tie. Ms. Wednesday fell to the ground with a cry.

"She looks much prrrrrettierrrrr with herrrrr hairrrrr down nya." We remarked in a whisper to Nami, who just looked at us like we were crazy. We shrugged our shoulders at her, and returned our gaze to the fight below us. There was a sudden explosion, and Ms. Wednesday turned around to see Igaram being blown up. {Not all the way, but burnt badly}.

"Ah! IGARAM!" She shouted, running over to him. She crouched by his side and turned him over.

"The traitors are Igaram, the leader of the Royal Guard of Alabasta," The bad-afro man started to say.

"And the princess of Alabasta, Nefertari Vivi." He finished, holding up a picture of a smiling Ms. Wednesday. "You evil person." we sweatdropped. _No, we think that's you…_ we thought, and then had to smother a laugh as Zoro dragged a bloated Luffy across the road and into an empty house without anyone else noticing. We had to lie down and cover our muzzle with our paws when Mr. Nine bowed down to princess Vivi.

"Oh! Ms. Wednesday is a princess?!" He shouted as he bowed. Vivi grew shark teeth.

"STOP DOING STUPID THINGS !" she shouted in exasperation.

"Anyway." We turned our attention back to bad-afro guy. "Boss ordered us…" he started to pick his nose, and we wrinkled our nose in disgust. "…to kill both of you!"

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER!" Vivi shouted, twirling what looked like teardrop shaped blades on her pinkies. We looked at Nami, who was hissing at us, and beckoning with her hand. We slowly slunk over to her, mindful of the people below who could potentially see us and subsequently kill us.

"Yes nya?" We hissed at her quietly.

"Can you stay here next to me?" She asked, eyes a little too wide to be normal sized. We looked at her for a moment before lying down next to her, and purred reassuredly. She smelled like fear, but also like she was thinking. We couldn't see much of the fight from where we were, but we could hear the voices just fine, and we could smell the fear and determination.

"I don't know what's going on," Mr. Nine said, "but because of our friendship as working partners, I will help you. Please hurry up and get out of here, Ms. Wednesday." we could hear the metal swish of something whisk through the air.

"MR. NINE!" shouted Vivi.

"Bye bye baby." Mr. Nine said, and there was the sound of something like back flips. "DOUBLE ULTIMATE BAT!"

"MR. NINE!" Vivi shouted again.

"The most important thing to us is to accomplish our mission." Bad-afro guy said. "That stupid friendship will make you die. Booger…"

"YAAAAH!"

"BULLET!" Our ears flattened, and our muzzle wrinkled so much that our tongue protruded from our teeth. It sounded like Mr. Nine was hit with a booger…that exploded. Nami's grip around our neck tightened, and we tried not to choke.

"His boogers are really dangerous…" we heard Zoro say. We shifted to look Nami in the eye.

"You arrrrrre choking us nya." We said in a normal voice. "Let go please nya." She smiled shakily, and let go, smoothing her hair and skirt, and then creeping over to the edge to sit down and watch again. We sat next to her as we had done before. Igaram was now clinging onto Zoro's leg.

"SIR, BASED ON YOUR ABILITY, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU FOR A FAVOR!" he shouted.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO DO YOU A FAVOR?!" Zoro shouted back, hopping around in an attempt to make the older man let go of his foot.

"THOSE TWO PEOPLE GOT THEIR ABILITIES FROM DEVIL'S FRUITS, SO I CAN'T DEFEAT THEM!" Igaram shouted back. "I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO PROTECT THE PRINCESS FOR ME PLEASE!" We watched as Vivi swung onto the back of an oversized duck, and they ran off. The two who had been attacking her followed quickly. Igaram was still going.

"IF YOU CAN TAKE THE PRINCESS TO ALABASTA-" he coughed up some blood. "WE WILL REPAY YOU WITH A GREAT PRIZE!" We looked sideways at Nami, who was beginning to look very interested. She even had a sly grin on her face. "PLEASE, I BEG YOU! PROTECT THE PRINCESS!" His voice was thick with tears, and we found that we sympathized with him. Zoro, on the other paw, didn't seem to at all. His only response was;

"You want me to hurt you again or what?" we sweatdropped at his response. And then Nami spoke up, and we jumped down and padded over to Zoro.

"A great prize? Is that true?" we sat down next to Zoro, and he spared us a questioning glance before looking up at Nami.

"That's very interesting.3" She said with a wink. "How about one billion Beri?" Our jaw dropped to the ground. She was _not_ serious…was she?

**-_-' wow…Nami really is a witch…oh well ^.^ that's all for now! See you later lovies! Don't forget to review! Ureshiitamago loves loves loves reviews to the point where she said loves three times! **


	6. Chapter 5

**Ureshiitamago: Well, I officially declare that right now, I have too much time on my hands.**

**Kretcher: But that's good, if you keep the story going.**

**Luffy: Yep, it's good. Meat?**

**Zoro: Sake?**

**Nami: Money?**

**Ureshiitamago: *sweatdrops* you guys…**

**Kretcher: ureshiitamago doesn't own One Piece. **

**Ureshiitamago: But I really want to. Luffy, here's your meat. Zoro, here's your Sake, Nami…I'm not giving you money.**

**Nami: *pouts***

**Ureshiitamago: By the way, This…- - will be voices in the background.**

_ "__A great prize? Is that true?" we sat down next to Zoro, and he spared us a questioning glance before looking up at Nami. _

_ "__That's very interesting.3" She said with a wink. "How about one billion Beri?" Our jaw dropped to the ground. She was _not_ serious…was she?_

**Chapter 5: A princess joins our ranks, onwards to the next Island!**

"ONE BILLION BERI?!" shouted Igaram with a cough. "Maa-maa-maa"

"I don't think Nami-san is serious nya." We said to Igaram, without conviction.

"Didn't you get drunk and fall asleep?" Zoro asked, a sweatdrop running down his head. We purred in amusement as Nami jumped off of the roof she had been perched on and landed on the ground.

"You think that I can sleep peacefully in a mystery town that welcomes pirates?" She asked Zoro. We padded silently over to the bloated Luffy, and prodded his round belly with our forepaw. – I pretended the whole thing. – Nami said, - am I pretty good or what? – We prodded Luffy's stomach again, and watched with interest as it continued to jiggle like pudding. – Oh? Is that so?- Zoro grumbled at Nami.

"Hey, stop doing that." Zoro picked us up by the scruff of our neck, and we turned to look at him accusingly.

"Put us down nya." We demanded politely. Zoro raised an eyebrow at us.

"No." true to his word, Zoro didn't put us down. We huffed in annoyance, and changed into our stuffed animal form to perch on his shoulder.

"So?" Nami asked Igaram with a devious smile on her face. Zoro and we shivered at the exact same time. "Are you willing to pay me one billion Beri? Mr. Royal Guard?" A sparkle appeared next to her as her grin widened.

"We see a devil nya." We muttered into Zoro's ear. Zoro snorted quietly, and Nami shot us a quick glare.

"If we don't help you, your princess will die for sure."

"The Devil nya." We deadpanned.

"The Devil." Zoro agreed with us.

"You two shut up!" Nami growled at the two of us, her teeth turning into shark teeth. She squatted down to where her face was almost level to Igarams', who was lying on the ground.

"HOW CAN A SOLDIER LIKE ME FIND THAT AMOUNT OF MONEY?!" He was shouting. Zoro and we sweatdropped when Nami replied.

"Huh? So your princess is worthless compared to money?" she asked. We were silent. That had hit too close to home for one of us. We saw Zoro glance at us out of the corner of his eye, but we ignored it. "Just pay!" Nami demanded with a smile.

"That's blackmail." Zoro deadpanned. We saw the gears turning in Igarams head as he replied.

"IF-" he broke off with a cough. "IF YOU CAN HELP THE PRINCESS, YOU CAN DEAL WITH HER DIRECTLY!" She shouted, and then continued in a softer voice. "I'm sure that she will agree!" We saw Nami's gears turning before she replied.

"You mean that I have to help the princess first?" she asked in an unbelieving tone. Igaram glared at her intensely.

"WHILE WE NEGOTIATE, THE PRINCESS IS….!" he broke off with a small sob. Nami stood up with a sigh and tucked a stray lock behind her ear.

"Ok! I will help the princess first." she planted her hands on her hips, and turned away from Zoro and we.

"GO! ZORO AND KRETCHER!" she pointed in the direction that princess Vivi had gone in earlier. Zoro's teeth turned to shark teeth as we sweatdropped.

"IF YOU WAN'T TO DO THAT, WHY DON'T YOU GO BY YOURSELF?!" he shouted.

"Why do we have to help you get money nya?" we asked curiously. We didn't mind helping the princess, but we wanted to know why she had to be in Nami's debt.

"Are you two crazy?!" Nami shouted, turning around and pointing at us with a that's-so-obvious look on her face.

"If it's about money, than it's about me!" she explained. "But if it's about the promise, than everyone must be involved too!" We sweatdropped, not following her logic whatsoever.

"YOU REALLY ARE SELFISH!" yelled Zoro, his shark teeth growing larger. We looked to the side to where Luffy was, and saw him sit up with a groggy look on his face. We ignored the shouting going on nest to us, having already decided to help, and watched Luffy instead. He stood up, and started to walk away.

"I wanna go to the restroom…" he muttered, walking around the corner. We sweatdropped, and turned back to the others.

"Did you forget?" Nami asked, placing her hands on her hips. "You still owe me." We looked at Zoro curiously from our perch on his shoulder. He had made a contract with the devil? Zoro crossed his arms and glared at her.

"When was that?" he asked. "Stop making up stories."

"I lent you 100,000 Beri at Logue town so you could buy your swords." Nami said matter-of-factly. We looked at the swords Zoro had brought back with him from Logue town. _The contract with the devil nya._ We thought with a sigh.

"But I've already given that back to you 'cause I got my swords for free." Zoro protested.

"But you also promised me that you'd pay me back at three times the interest, right?" Nami said.

"Zorrrrro-san, you'rrrrrrre in debt nya." We said with a sigh. Nami grinned at that, and made a circle with her thumb and forefinger.

"You still owe me 200,000 Beri."

"Actually, I don't have to give that money back to you, right?" Zoro asked, slightly panicked, trying to get out of the debt.

"No way."

"WHAT?!"

Nami looked disappointed in him.

"A person like you, can't even keep one promise?" We could tell that her words hit Zoro where it hurt.

"If you do what I said, you will not owe me anything." She said, knowing that she had won. "And you," she continued, pointing at us. "you are going to help them." We purred at her.

"Surrrrre thing nya." We replied. We jumped off of Zoro's shoulder and landed on the ground, changing into our feline form as we landed, and then we took off after Zoro, who shouted over his shoulder;

"YOU WON'T DIE PEACEFULLY!"

"That's right," we heard Nami retort, "I may rot in hell." She didn't seem to mind. We raced alongside Zoro, our muscles rippling as they stretched and then coiled. We relished the wind in our face, and while we were running, we almost forgot about our mission, until Zoro started talking.

"So why are you listening to that witch?" he asked as he ran beside us. We glanced at him curiously, leaping over the body of one of the bounty hunters.

"What do you mean nya?" we asked him.

"You aren't in debt too, are you?" he asked as a way of explanation. We laughed a cat laugh, a rumbling purr in our chest that the whole world could hear.

"No, we arrrrren't, nya. We just want to help a fellow prrrrrrincess nya." We replied. "Nami-san knows this nya." Zoro hummed in response. The two of us carried on in companionable silence, and we started to feel the thrill of running again. We sniffed the air, following the fear scent trail that princess Vivi had left.

"This way nya!" We shouted, turning a sharp right down an alleyway. Zoro turned with us, and we carried on, until we saw the person whom we were looking for. We stopped at the edge of the building as Zoro rushed in…to cut a booger in two. It exploded behind princess Vivi, and we padded over to her. She was perched on her duck, and we eyed it, a grumble escaping our stomach. The bird started to sweat, but we ignored it, and our stomach. Food could wait for now.

"MR. BUSHIDO!" Princess Vivi cried in alarm. She probably thought that he was going to finish her off. We tilted our head to look at her. She hadn't noticed us yet, though her duck had, and was keeping as still as it could. Vivi turned around in her seat.

"Ah! Dead end!" she cried in panic.

"I had to cut a booger?!" We heard Zoro yell in anger and disgust. We flicked our tail in amusement and sympathy, and then turned our attention back to Vivi as she whipped out those blade things.

"Damn!" She shouted, and started to twirl them. "Why do you have to show up in a situation like this?!" She shouted, lunging foreward at Zoro. She didn't get very far though, because we trapped her hand in our paws. She looked at us for a minute, uncomprehending, and then looked very scared.

"It's alrrrrright nya." We said, trying to calm her down. She just seemed even more scared. We looked to Zoro.

"Calm down." He said blandly. "We've come here to help you." Vivi looked confused now, and glanced at us. We let go of her hand, and sat back down, curling our tail over our forepaws.

"Wha?" She gasped. "Help me?" We didn't blame her for looking so unbelieving. It still hurt though.

"Hmm? So you're the swordsman who destroyed this town…" Lemon lady said, her voice just, interested, as if she was talking about the weather. She spared us a glance.

"I don't know who _you_ are." We sniffed at her comment and gave our shoulder a lick. It was the greatest cat insult, to wash in front of someone, though she obviously didn't know that.

"So why do they protect the princess of Alabasta?" bad-afro man asked. We assumed it was a rhetorical question, but Zoro answered it anyway.

"We have our own reasons." He said mysteriously. We purred, and felt Vivi looking at us for a fraction of a second before she was looking back at the two enemies in front of our small group. The duck was trembling beside us.

"Never mind." Bad-afro man said in a bored tone. "You still can't compare to us, just another worthless obstacle." We let out a small growl at that.

"That's right." Lemon giggle lady said, taking off her hat and closing her umbrella. Her hair was a pale yellow, and was clipped to the side with darker yellow clips. "This obstacle will be crushed to the ground by my power." Her voice suddenly became dangerous, and we stood and padded to Zoro.

"We will take this one nya." We said in a low voice. Zoro nodded. We crouched, peeling back our lips so she could see our teeth, and our tail lashed. Once we felt we had enough power to jump, we started, only to fall on our face at a shout that sounded like Luffy.

"ZORO!" We muttered something not flattering about rubber people and their big mouths, and then heaved our self off our muzzle, and turned to glare at Luffy. He ignored us.

"Ah, so you've come to help?" Zoro asked. Somehow we didn't think that was it. "That's not necessary. Or did you owe that witch too?" Zoro looked smug, and we rolled our eyes and sat down, smoothing our ruffled fur with quick swipes of our tongue on our paw. We fell to the side when Luffy shouted;

"I WONT FORGIVE YOU THIS TIME! LET'S FIGHT!" Luffy looked as angry as he had when he was fighting Arlong, and this worried us. How did he become so angry? We looked to Zoro for an explanation, but he looked just as confused as we were. Zoro decided to make the situation better by yelling. _Grrrreat, Zorrrrro nya. Morrrrre yelling will definitely stop all of the yelling nya…_ We thought, sweatdropping.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Zoro yelled. We padded back over to Vivi, grumbling about stupid rubber people and swordsmen and how they couldn't seem to stop yelling. "I DON'T UNDERSTAND AT ALL!"

"SHUT UP! I WILL CRUSH UNGRATEFUL PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO THE GROUND!" Luffy yelled back.

"I believe there has been a misunderrrrstanding nya." We murmured to Vivi, who nodded in agreement.

"Ungrateful?" Zoro asked, placing his hands on his swords.

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Luffy appeared to be remembering something, and we started to usher Vivi and her duck to the side in anticipation of a battle.

"I won't forgive you…" Luffy growled, "THEY GAVE US A WARM WELCOME AND BROUGHT US GOOD FOOD," He yelled to the sky, "BUT YOU HARM ALL OF THOSE KIND PEOPLE?!" We could see Zoro's face looked shocked that Luffy could be this obtuse.

"What kind of an idiot…" Vivi trailed off, not finishing her question. We sweatdropped at Luffy, and continued to usher Vivi and her duck to the side.

"Hey Luffy, listen to me." Zoro tried to reason with Luffy. "These people are…" he didn't get very far into his sentence when Luffy attacked him.

"DON'T MAKE EXCUSES!" Luffy shouted in rage. Zoro ducked the Gomu gomu pistol that had been aimed at his head, and then shouted at Luffy after the wall behind him shattered after the attack.

"DAMN IT LUFFY! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"

"Yes." Luffy said angrily. "Just go to hell." We would've laughed if the situation hadn't been so dire.

"Haa?" Zoro looked at Luffy disbelievingly before Luffy aimed a kick at him and shattered another wall.

"CAN'T YOU LISTEN TO ME FIRST?!" Zoro shouted as he dodged the kick, and then kicked Luffy away from him. "That idiot is serious this time." He said, breathing a little hard. "Kretcher." Our ears perked up. "Get the princess out of the way."

"Alrrrready done, nya." We answered, sitting on the other side of the street next to Vivi. "Just keep him overrrr therrrrre nya." Zoro nodded. Vivi poked us on the hackles, and we looked up at her. She was looking at the two others whom we had completely forgot about. They were running towards us at top speed. We didn't move though. They were running through Zoro and Luffy's fight area, and were about to be trounced. We yawned as they went flying, courtesy of Zoro kicking Luffy into them. Luffy proceeded to crash into a house on the side of the street that Vivi and we were sitting.

"What a moron!" grumbled Zoro as he watched the house. We heard Vivi gulp. Suddenly, there was an explosion from the house that Luffy and the other two had flown into, and the Lemon giggle lady flew out of the top.

"I AM REALLY ANGRY NOW!" she shouted with a smile. "YOU ALL MUST DIE WITH MY SPECIAL ABILITY FROM THE KILO KILO NO MI!" she giggled obnoxiously. "BE PREPARED! RIGHT NOW MY WEIGHT IS ONLY ONE KILO! SO I CAN JUMP VERY HIGH!" We sweatdropped at her lengthy explanation. We flinched as Vivi suddenly decided to scream in our ear.

"MR. BUSHIDO! GET OUT OF THERE! THAT WOMAN WILL—"

"Shut up!" Zoro interrupted. "This is not the time to worry about that." He was looking unusually tense, and was staring in the direction that Luffy had gone. And then Luffy appeared, dragging an unconscious bad-afro man behind him.

"Ha…" Luffy said, patting his stomach, which was now flat, "that exercise made all of my food digest at once."

"MR…MR. FIVE?!" Vivi screamed in our ear again. We grimaced and patted our ear in pain. "YOU MUST BE KIDDING! HE IS AN OFFICER AGENT OF BAROQUE WORKS!"

**Well, a little shorter than yesterday, but hey! At least I got another one done! ;) see you later lovies, ciao for now!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Ureshiitamago: So…*looks at a wall***

**Kretcher: *sweatdrop* You okay?**

**Ureshiitamago: Oh. *blows nose* ****_Now_**** you care, you ungrateful *grouch grouch***

**Kretcher: …so you're not.**

**Ureshiitamago: I was feeling just ****_fine_**** last night! UGH! WHY, UNIVERSE, WHY?!**

**Kretcher:…**

**Ureshiitamago: Well, things can't get much worse, right? *nose starts to bleed* OH #*&$ NO! YOU DID NOT JUST- **

**Kretcher: Disclaimer! She doesn't own One Piece, Just her OCs! And this one's a short chappie, because she's sick.**

**Ureshiitamago: *mutters around tissues***

_ "__MR…MR. FIVE?!" Vivi screamed in our ear again. We grimaced and patted our ear in pain. "YOU MUST BE KIDDING! HE IS AN OFFICER AGENT OF BAROQUE WORKS!" _

**Chapter 6: We got a princess on our crew!**

"Let's get serious." Luffy said to Zoro. We shivered at the look in his eyes.

"Luffy, listen to me." Zoro tried to reason with angry Luffy, "Everyone in this town is a bounty hunter." Meanwhile, Lemon giggle lady was floating above him and shouting at him not to ignore her. We decided to ignore her as well.

"So they were all our enemies." Zoro finished in a sensible tone. We sweatdropped as Luffy shouted.

"LIES! WHAT KIND OF ENEMY WOULD BRING FOOD TO US!?" _Is that all he thinks about nya?_ The lemon giggle lady crashed through the ground next to Zoro.

"Luffy, I don't think that you'll listen to me this time." _Noooo._ We thought sarcastically. _What tipped you off nya?_

"YOU IDIOT! I HAVE TO BE SERIOUS THIS TIME!" Zoro tied his black bandana around his head. "IF YOU DIE, DON'T BE SORRY!" _What did that last sentence even mean nya?_

"NO WAY!" Shouted Luffy.

"Wait a moment…" Vivi said worriedly. "Aren't they friends?" We nodded.

"They arrrrrre frrrrriends nya." We said. Vivi turned to look at us. "They arrrre having a misunderrrrrrstanding rrrrrrright now though nya." We winced as the two men crashed together, each trying their best to kill the other.

"This is a good chance!" Zoro shouted as the dust cleared. "Let's see who's better between us!"

"Yeah! Let's fight!" Luffy growled back to him. There was a whirlwind that caused us to close our eyes, and when we opened them, both Luffy and Zoro had disappeared. There were holes on buildings on either side of the road, and we sweatdropped. _They arrrrre just like childrrrren nya…_ We thought in exasperation. Vivi started to walk her duck down the road.

"If I get through here, I'll be safe." She said to herself. We padded beside her, but we weren't as surprised as she was when Luffy and Zoro smashed out from the buildings they had flown into, and clashed with each other again. We could feel the fur on our muzzle start to peel back from the shockwave of the hit, and then they were a whirlwind of attacks once again. We huffed, and waited for Nami to find us and put an end to the nonsense. We noticed Mr. Nine and lemon giggle lady start to rush towards Luffy and Zoro when suddenly, the two stopped fighting and instead turned to glare at them.

"Both of you shut up!" They said at the same time.

"Don't you dare get involved…" Luffy and Zoro wound up to attack.

"In our fight!" And Mr. Nine and lemon giggle lady went flying.

"They are too noisy." Zoro complained.

"Where are they coming from?" Luffy asked.

"They werrrrrre herrrrrre the whole time nya." We answered. Luffy's eyes bugged.

"Whoa! Skelly! When did you get here?!" A tic mark appeared on our head.

"WE WERRRRRE HERRRRE THE WHOLE TIME AS WELL NYA!" We screeched at him. Luffy laughed for a minute.

"This is impossible!" we turned our attention to Vivi, who was gaping at the two monsters. "They are really strong! I never thought that I would meet these kinds of people at the entrance to Grand Line!" She seemed to be talking to herself. We sweatdropped. _Hello? We exist nya…_We growled as Luffy and Zoro glared at each other, and then made to start attacking each other again. We shot forward, and smashed into Zoro, and kicked our back legs out at Luffy, who nimbly dodged, but was taken out by Nami's fist to his head. Another fist connected with our head, and we saw stars for a moment.

"What was _that_ for nya?!" We asked Nami, flabbergasted that she had hit us too. She grew shark teeth and yelled at us.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO STOP SOMETHING LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING!" she screamed. We winced at the high octave she had reached, and whimpered in pain.

"AND YOU TWO!" She turned to Luffy and Zoro, who were quaking in their boots. She punched them. "STOP BEING STUPID!" She yelled as they flew. She propped her hands on her hips and sighed.

"What are you doing?" She asked the three of us. "As long as you can protect that girl, everything should be fine." She grabbed Luffy and Zoro's shirts, and dragged them up to face her head on.

"I WAS SO CLOSE TO LOSING ONE BILLION BERI! DID YOU REALIZE THAT!?" She shouted. She then turned her glare on us. We scampered over to Vivi and her duck with our tail in between our legs.

"Guarrrrd duty, got it nya." We said, hiding behind the duck, and peeking out.

"What are you talking about?" Vivi asked, her eyes flicking between Nami and we. "And why are you helping me?"

"That's right." Nami said, still holding Zoro and Luffy's shirts. The two boys were kicking and punching each other. "We have to talk. How about some negotiations?" She suggested.

"Negotiations?" Vivi repeated.

"Don't do it nya!" We warned. "She is the devil incarrrrrcerrrrrate nya!" A second later, we were face down on the ground with a steaming lump on our head.

"Animal Crrrruilty nya!" We shouted at the ground. Zoro and Luffy had been given the same treatment as we, but were sitting on a box and a barrel. Luffy laughed at what we said.

"She got you too!" He sang. We groaned, and sat up, rubbing our head with a paw. Zoro began to explain the situation to Luffy again, and this time Luffy listened. We piped up at times to fill in a thing or two that Zoro had forgotten. Soon, Luffy was laughing his butt off.

"Hahaha! Why didn't you tell me first!? I thought that you were mad at them for not having any of your favorite food!"

"I'm/He's not you!" Zoro and we shouted at him. This only caused Luffy to laugh harder.

**UUUGH. Sorry for the short chapter lovies….I just really feel like crap, and thinking isn't my strong suit right now. Bleh. This chapter is crap. I can't wait until we get off of Whisky Peak. *sighs* anyway, later lovies, ciao for now.**


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